Fallen From Grace
by Rikki Writinglover
Summary: The decimation of the entire free world as it once was can be traced to a single shot fired. All events that happened after were simply ripple effects of that. Now it is possible that it still would have happened, eventually, but not the way it did. No in truth it was symbolic of the moment humanity betrayed its heroes, and subsequently sealed their fate. AVENGERS GO DARK
1. Tell Me Your Sins

**PLEASE READ NOTE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE**

The decimation of the entire free world as it once was can be traced to a single shot fired.

All events that happened after were simply ripple effects. It is possible it could have been avoided, and it is also possible there was never a way to circumvent the bloodshed that followed.

But regardless, that shot symbolized the moment humanity betrayed its heroes, and subsequently sealed its own fate.

Before the Fall (as people call it), things were finally starting to get better for the world.

As they always do, before they get worse.

* * *

 _~ Twelve Months Ago~_

Steve pants as he trudges back into the tower, his spandex suit practically melted to his skin at this point. They'd been fighting for _hours_ , and super soldier or not, with the sun beating down outside like they were in the middle of the Sahara rather than Central Park, he was exhausted. His brain was all muddled, strained from battle, the tactics and worry and constant calculations finally taking their toll on him as the adrenaline finally begins to dissipate.

He's not stressed for once, however. No one was injured past a couple scrapes and bruises, and the property damage was contained to a small area of the park that could be easily roped off and repaired. There was no civilian collateral damage, and Fury even postponed the debrief because the mission wasn't urgent, just a angry programmer who made a bunch of knock off Doom Bots (which Tony insists are _already_ knock offs, though he never specifies of what). So for once, Steve doesn't have to worry, he can just shower away the sweat, take a nap, and maybe grab dinner with the team.

"Wanda…. Pietro? Can I talk with you? Alone?" Tony's voice suddenly rings out, casual, his tone giving nothing away and strike that, Steve has plenty to be worried about. Suddenly, the heat evaporates and he's left with ice in his veins, wondering what on Earth Tony could be thinking. This is the first time they've all fought together since Ultron—except for Vision, who is currently off gallivanting around space with the self proclaimed 'Guardians of the Galaxy— and and as far as he's aware, both of the Maximoff twins still both despise the genius. They did agree to be on the team, well aware he would be present, so he doesn't _think_ they would do anything….. but he isn't willing to trust Tony's life with them yet. Maybe not ever.

"Tony I don't think that-" He starts, and he knows some of what Clint dubs his 'Captain America voice' slips through, but Tony's gaze physically rips the words from his tongue. The older man's eyes are practically _black_ they are so intense, and they're so damn desperate it hurts his heart a little. He's begging Steve to leave it be without a word, and he cannot help but comply. He knew informing Tony of the twins' history would have repercussions, but he'd hoped Tony would wait until things were less tense to confront the matter.

He is a fool. Who would believe Tony would wait to handle something like this.

He tries to think of something to say, but Wanda beats him to it, watching Tony carefully before slowly nodding in agreement, sharing a glance with Pietro.

Tony doesn't smile, but he nods in thanks, and then turns to glare at Steve, letting that glare skim over the rest of the team. "Hit the showers guys. We'll catch up." Tony commands, his voice unwavering. Everyone watches the exchange with wary eyes, looking to Steve, and it is obvious they share his worries, but there is nothing he can do. This is Tony's house, and as much as he hates it he cannot force the man away even for his own safety, and he cannot openly dismiss the Maximoffs, not when he barely convinced them to join.

"Come on team...let's go clean up. We'll see you _all_ for dinner." He stresses, attempting to let Tony know he would be waiting up, but the genius ignores him, resolutely looking in the other direction. Steve sighs and shares a look with Natasha, whose blue eyes are glimmering with concern as they lead the team away, murmurs fluttering through the exhausted crowd as they are ushered out the door.

…..

Wanda watches Stark carefully as the rest of their new team exits the room. He stands completely still, still decked in his suit, minus the faceplate, and eyes his friends as they leave. But, once the door shuts behind a frazzled looking Banner, Tony whispers something to that AI of his, and his suit opens, letting him walk out unencumbered (unprotected). Wanda blinks at his boldness, wondering if he is simply very brave, or very stupid, to make himself so vulnerable to people whose family he had a hand in murdering. He doesn't even spare them a glance before walking towards Steve's usual chair—apparently this is the team's 'post mission room'— and grabbing the soldier's abandoned water bottle, chugging the contents. Wanda pauses a moment, assessing him.

His posture is reserved, giving nothing away, yet not defensive. In fact he would look completely casual if not for the sweat she dripping from the man's body. Wanda absently wonders exactly how hot it must be, fighting in a huge metal suit the over 100 degree weather.

Stark quickly startles her out of her musing though, sitting his water down and turning to address her and her brother. "So Steve, as I discovered today, has been playing protector again." He starts casually. Wanda raises an eyebrow, wondering exactly where he is going with this, and she can feel Pietro doing the same beside her. Stark notices quickly and smiles (obviously forced) and gestures in some unhelpful way, as if that explains.

"I mean that he just told me today exactly why you two harbor such hostility towards me. I was stupid enough to think it was simply because of Ultron—not that that isn't a solid reason—but your parents…..that changes things. Cap didn't tell because he didn't want me 'blaming myself for things beyond my control' but he has never been in this situation, and he doesn't understand it is my fault. In fact, I am extremely impressed you haven't tried to kill me yet—I wouldn't have been able to restrain myself if I were you."

He pauses a moment, falling into Rogers' chair, his head in his hands, and he chuckles bitterly before continuing. "I have had a bomb blow up in my face, with my own name literally scrawled across it, and to imagine you as children…..waiting for that after it had already killed your parents… I can't express how sorry I am in mere words, for as little as it means."

Suddenly he sits up straight, staring at both of them with an intensity that burns a little, and she eyes Pietro, seeing the same surprise in his face that must be evident in hers.

"I take full responsibility for my actions. I wronged you, and I know that revenge is why you teamed up with Ultron to begin with. I want you to know if that's still what you want, I understand. I've instructed Jarvis not to interfere, and to back up whatever you wish to say. I know you two are trying here with the team, and I don't want to ruin that for you as well, so say I provoked you, attacked you even—Jarvis will fabricate whatever footage you need. If you'd rather, I'll leave. I'll quit the team and I'll vanish from your lives, so you can live on in peace without having to ever see me again. I refuse to stay here everyday forcing you to work and live with me knowing what I've cost you, not without giving you a chance to get some closure. It's all I _can_ give you, I'm sad to say."

Wanda gapes as she realizes what exactly Stark is offering.

Revenge. He's offering to _let_ them kill him. And get away with it. Or, to abandon the team he obviously cares so much for in order to let them have a place here. This…. was not an individuality they anticipated when they decided to take the Captain up on his offer.

They expected to have to endure, as they always have. To see his face everyday, flaunting his lack of guilt, but to hopefully suffer through it for the chance to right some of their own mistakes. Which they could do, because they have improved, they logically know now that Stark was simply a tool in their parent's murder, not the man who pulled the trigger. But years of hatred do not evaporate so easily, and it hasn't helped that the man seemingly didn't care—he typically doesn't even spare them a glance, as if the victims of his sins aren't worth his time. It never even crossed her mind, either of their minds, that perhaps Stark wasn't even aware he was the one who indirectly _made_ them victims.

This does certainly change things. It was easy to villainize, hate this man when he was some impersonal puppet master who cost her her family. But now, sitting there, looking accepting and tired and so painfully _human_ …..she just can't find that loathing in her. Resentment yes, that likely won't fade for awhile…. but she can't hurt him. She won't become the monster Hydra wanted her to be. Her parents wouldn't want that for her. Stark is not some larger than life murderer...he's just a man, one who is desperately attempting to pay for his mistakes. Much like her and her brother.

...

Pietro stares at Stark, sitting there utterly defenseless, and he can't deny he is tempted. He has hated this man his entire life, and rational or not it's still hard to banish the idea of this man murdering his family. But Pietro still remembers right from wrong, and he knows it would be wrong to hurt Stark, to take his anger at the world out on him. He knows vaguely of this man's past, his stint in Afghanistan and the man called Stane, who is likely the real man at fault for the death of his parents. But yet Stark brought none of that up in his speech, he never tried to justify himself. He built the weapons, and he's trying to atone for that now. Anthony Stark is trying to redeem himself through Iron Man as they are through the Avengers, and he's willing to give that up in order to provide them the closure he believes they need. Pietro cannot imagine giving up hope of redemption. He and his sister had killed a lot of innocent people working for Hydra, they were manipulated and used as tools, just as the man in front of them had been. Now they are trying to make that right, and he knows now the first step in that will be moving through this.

He opens his mouth, to say something (though he isn't sure exactly what words would have tumbled out of his mouth), but before he can Wanda's hands begin to glow, and true to his word Stark doesn't move. She takes a step towards the billionaire, and Pietro grabs her arm to stop her. He knows she would regret actually hurting the man, especially when he is completely defenseless. But Wanda just looks at him sharply, her expression determined, but not angry or murderous. He nods slowly and releases her, not sure exactly what she intends to do, but sure she won't hurt Stark. Wanda smiles softly in thanks and places her hands on either side of the genius' head, and Pietro watches in fascination as brown eyes glow red from his sister's magic.

Stark tenses suddenly, and Wanda's forehead crinkles in that way that means she's searching for something. Pietro cannot imagine exactly what she could be searching for in the man's mind, but he trusts her to keep him in the loop.

Everything is quiet for a moment before Wanda frowns and backs away from Stark, her fingers intertwining with Pietro's, her smaller hand trembling from the use of her power. He almost asks her if she's alright, but the moment their skin touches his mind is flooded with images, images of a young boy being screamed at by a dark haired man, hateful words and merciless fists flying through the air. A bomb labeled _STARK INDUSTRIES_ exploding in front of his eyes, shrapnel imbedding itself in his chest, piercing and damming and inescapable. Pietro can feel the echo of pain from his chest being cut open, his heart held in another's hands as he lies awake, trashing. He feels the fear of waterboarding, and devastation at the death of a man named Yinsen. He is overwhelmed with betrayal as he watches Stane ripping the Arc Reactor out of his chest, feels his body begin to shut down. He sees his—Stark's reflection as he aims his gauntlet at the mirror, feels his guilt and self-hatred bubbling to the surface. He feels the poison from the Arc Reactor working it's way through his body, and the mixed joy-disappointment when he cures it. Pietro hears the Captain telling him he would never lay down on the wire, and that he isn't a hero. Then, everything is black before the stars come into focus, and a terrifying,overwhelming number of space ships come into focus in his fading vision, and a nuke explodes in front him, strangely beautiful in its destruction. Then suddenly the images start coming faster, the Mandarin, the panic attacks, the redheaded woman Pepper falling to her death, and the overwhelming feeling of relief when she survives. Ultron. Surprisingly he even sees Barnes, and he hears himself—Stark, assuring him he doesn't hate him. That it would take time to accept, but that he doesn't blame him for his parents murder. That he knows it was Hydra. Absently, Pietro wonders if the Captain knows about _that_ particular conversation.

Pietro gasps as the visions finally fade, and as the world comes back into focus he locks eyes with his sister. Her countenance swims with emotion and he squeezes her hand comfortably, trying not to think of their own less than stellar childhoods. After a moment, Wanda finally sighs, and he hears her soft voice in his mind, her words obviously hard to even mentally vocalize, but sincere.

" _He has suffered enough."_

Pietro hesitates for only a moment before nodding in agreement, his head still slightly fuzzy from what he just witnessed. He knows now why she wanted to look into Stark's mind—she needed to know, needed to know if this is him truly repenting or simply acting for their benefit. Which is very obviously not the case. Wanda smiles softly at him and he feels his heart warm, because damn if he hadn't missed his sister having reasons to smile. They'd been unhappy so long, the both of them. Still they are. Burdened by first hate, and now guilt…..he just wants them to be free of that. And now they can. Stark has suffered enough to pay for his part in the death of their parents...and now they can work to finally let go of this hate, to move on with their lives. They can forgive, and maybe one day be forgiven.

Wanda rubs her thumb across his knuckle, no doubt reading his thoughts, before she lets go, dropping to kneel in front of Stark, who for his part looks utterly baffled.

"We are going to give you a chance Mr. Stark, I believe you have earned yourself 've suffered enough to repent for your role in our parents deaths—a small role, we now know. And if you can forgive James Barnes for murdering your parents personally, I believe we can offer the same to you, with time. We too have made some poor decisions and placed our trust in the wrong people. Stay on the Avengers Tony Stark, as will we. We are all trying to atone for our sins. If we ask forgiveness for ours we cannot withhold the same opportunity from you."

Her voice is gentle, and Pietro smiles at her, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. So much like their mother, and she doesn't even realize it. He hopes, god he hopes they're making the right choice, that this will allow he and his sister to finally find peace from their pasts and attempt to move forward. He knows that this resentment will take time to shed, but God he doesn't want to wear it anymore.

Stark (Pietro wonders if he should start calling him Tony at some point, he did just see the man's soul) just gapes, his expression lost, as if he understand the words Wanda is saying but cannot grasp the meaning. In that moment, Pietro can see what the rest of the Avengers see: a scared, broken man just trying to protect the people he cares about. Pietro scoffs lightly to himself and wonders how many people have faced the dilemma of realizing that Stark is much easier to hate from a distance.

Stark looks towards him after a moment, obviously searching for some sort of confirmation or denial, and Pietro is more than ready to end this entire dramatic scene and just go take a shower already. So he just smirks at the stupefied genius.

"Didn't see that one coming eh?" He drawls, and at Stark's wary gaze he finally just nods assent. "Clean slate and all Stark. Can't promise we will be friends, but give us time, and we shall give you the benefit of the doubt."

He can see Stark struggling to come to terms with what he probably believes is a completely unlikely twist, and Pietro feels reassured again that they're making the right choice. For him, and likely Wanda too, the willingness to accept whatever punishment they saw fit convinced him that Stark deserves a chance as much as the memories did. If he had tried to justify it, push all blame away, Pietro doesn't think he would have handled this so maturely. Actually, he's positive he wouldn't have. He wouldn't have killed Stark (he doesn't _think_ ), but he probably would have beat the man within an inch of his life.

"Thank you." Tony finally croaks, his voice disbelieving and humbled. Pietro smiles awkwardly as he pulls Wanda up, and blissfully directs them towards the door. But something stops him before he turns out, and he looks back, making eye contact with the genius. "Just don't waste it Stark."

He didn't mean to echo a dead man's words, but he means them all the same.

 **Sooooo what is going on is that I am slowly revamping my stories. My writing style has evolved since I began writing on this site, and for my WIP stories, at least this one and 'Save My Lost Soul' I intend to revamp and continue them. THE STORY MIGHT CHANGE A BIT, so please if you intend to continue following this story or any others I rewrite, read the revamped chapters.**


	2. Hold Your Breath

After that the team bonds began to strengthen.

Wanda and Pietro were dubbed "Scarlet Witch" and "Quicksilver," respectively, and the media took quickly to the duo. Wanda's shy demeanor and Pietro's unending charm was the perfect combo to play towards the public, and they began helping Tony with the Avenger's public relations. Bucky Barnes officially joined the team as the Winter Soldier, and while the public still remained wary, even the paparazzi had reservations about exploiting a POW.

Through Thor, the team was introduced to Darcy Lewis, who slipped into the dynamic with ease. Eventually, Tony couldn't resist (not that she would have allowed him to say no had he wanted to) putting her brilliant mind to use. He began training her to navigate the system, and soon enough she was able to hack into security cameras with ease, becoming their all-seeing eyes during battle.

She prevented quite a few accidents, but luck always runs out eventually. They couldn't play heroes forever and still avoid brushes with mortality—especially not Tony.

And almost losing Tony… well.

Even the Avengers have fears they aren't ready to face.

* * *

~ _Eight months ago~_

"Widow, Cap needs backup!"

Darcy barks swiftly through her headset, which Tony has directly linked to the team comlinks. She hears a slight grunt of acknowledgement from Natasha, and eyes the screen, watching as the Widow appears almost instantly at Steve's side. Together the pair effortlessly eliminate the mass of Doombots that had begun to surround the Captain, and move outward towards the swarm.

Steve, leader or not, has a bad habit of waiting too long to ask for help (she puts it nicely, Bucky just says that the Captain keeps his head shoved up his ass).He won't say anything when he's outnumbered, won't mention an injury unless it's pretty serious or could interfere while he assists other teammates.

It was a major point of contention before Darcy started helping out the team. He and Tony would be at each other's throats for hours, Steve accusing Tony of being reckless, Tony in turn accusing Steve of being a hypocrite. But now she has eyes on them all, so (especially for Steve) it's difficult for any of them to bite off more than they can chew without her knowing about it.

As she thinks this, she notices a Doombot blast Pietro, who is currently rounding up the last of civilians, with some sort of chemical. It hits his feet, and while he doesn't cry out, he struggles for a moment, the liquid bubbling up into some type of hardened foam that prevents him from moving any further. He frowns at the stuff and begins trying to work himself free, probably trying to solve the problem before Darcy can see.

"Iron Man, Quicksilver needs a lift, he's been caught and is currently an easy target." Her command is impressively professional, and it is almost instantly that Iron Man swoops down and retrieves the speedster, dropping him safely near Clint, who covers them during the rescue. Once safely on the ground, Pietro quickly shakes the remaining foam off his feet and winks at the nearest camera, laughing. "My guardian angel, to the rescue once again. _However_ will I thank you later, darling?"

Darcy blushes in spite of herself at her boyfriend's antics, rolling her eyes, and she isn't surprised to hear the multiple exasperated groans of the Avengers. And of course without failure, Tony's complaints.

" Quicksilver stop flirting with my protégée," the genius whines. "Why she has settled for your smart ass I will never know. Not to mention, _I'm_ doing the heavy lifting, all praise should be mine." His faux annoyance soon surrenders to fondness, and Darcy chuckles to herself, smiling slightly at the image of the man on screen, even if he can't see it.

"I thought I was your protégée? I'm the one with the suit. Don't you love me anymore baby?" Rhodey huffs dramatically, his tone playfully hurt and Darcy rolls her eyes. For men who claim to be _utterly_ platonic (Rhodey once choked on a chicken bone when Wanda mistakenly thought they were dating), they flirt with each other more than any of the couples on the team do. She doesn't know how Sam handles that with their history, but it is common knowledge that he now has War Machine wrapped around his little finger, so she assumes he's just that confident.

"Please Honeybear, you might be the light of my life, but you are merely a thief who mimics me. A real protégée thinks their mentor is awesome beyond all comparison, which Darcy totally does, therefor she gets benefits such as custom made Stark Players and new tasers. Plus, _she_ thinks I'm pretty." Tony says saucily, and Darcy can just picture him batting his eyelashes at them. "Isn't that right?" He asks her, his tone clear that he already knows what she's going to say.

Darcy snorts at the exaggerated sweetness in his voice, and attempts to ignore him at first, checking the rest of the camera's diligently, but she quickly relents.

"Of course I think you're awesome Tony," She admits (only somewhat begrudgingly) "And way too pretty for your own good."

Tony laughs, delighted, and she sees him flash her a heart sign through the cameras as he flies by, dropping a Doombot to its death. Clint gasps, outraged, shooting her a glare through the cameras and she shakes her head, wondering why she surrounds herself with smart asses.

"You. Darcy, you traitor, you are the reason my arrows have been waitlisted. You can't hog Stark, you little brat. Tony, baby, have I told you how much I love you lately? Because you're definitely the most awesome one here, and I swear I have _no_ problems telling you how pretty you are." As he speaks he takes down several more Doombots, he and Pietro moving closer to Steve and Natasha, the four moving into a diamond shape as they face off against the bots from all angles.

Tony chuckles deeply, soaring in a graceful arc out of the way of a blast, and then drawls in a (totally unfair) bedroom voice, "Oh darling, flattery will get you _everywhere."_ Darcy doesn't even attempt to hide her frustrated growl as a tingle goes up her spine because, _holy shit_ ,does Tony Stark know how to be sexy. Thankfully, she knows her boyfriend won't mind. If Pietro cared that she admired the stupid attractiveness of the other Avengers, they never would have started dating.

Hell, he openly admires these specimens of human perfection as often as she does. She's pretty sure he has a thing for Clint, and since Darcy has openly fawned over Natasha since day one, it fits nicely. It is part of why they are perfect for each other— they are both shameless admirers of the sexy things in life.

There are a few moments of complete silence as everyone recovers from that, so obviously, she is not the only one who was affected. God she can _feel_ Tony smirking, that asshole. She's right, he _is_ too pretty for his own good.

"Stark I swear if I wasn't totally hopelessly in love with Natasha—" Clint starts, but Steve interrupts him, his voice slightly irritated, slightly dazed. "Cut the chatter!" He barks, and Darcy smirked to herself, wondering if that's not a little jealously bleeding through. It is a known fact that Steve had a thing for the genius before Bucky came back, but it was kind of left in the air once Steve's long lost love returned from his own stint under ice.

She isn't sure where he stands with Tony now. They're still best friends, that much is obvious, but anything else is one of the unspoken mysteries of the team. As far as they're aware, Steve never told the genius anything about his feelings, and they aren't even sure Bucky is aware.

Tony's end is even more confusing, and no one knows whether he even noticed the Captain's affections, much less returned the sentiment at any point. Even Natasha only has theories, as Tony is notoriously hard to read. No one is even completely sure what is between he and Pepper anymore, all of them too nervous to ask, but unable to work out their complicated relationship.

The silence is almost deafening after all the conversations, and it's that that pulls her out of her thoughts. Darcy watches as Steve tosses Natasha through the air into a deadly arc, the assassin taking out three Doombots as she falls, a gleefully murderous smile gracing her features.

Darcy sighs longingly at her as she watches. If she didn't have Pietro she would be fighting Clint for Natasha, because that woman is a _complete goddess_. She seems to possess some sort of superpower to look attractive in all situations, no matter how vehemently she denies it.

"Stop pining over my girlfriend, dammit Lewis. First you steal my best friend and now you're eyeing Natasha." Clint pouts, and Darcy grins at the camera. She doesn't miss Steve's exasperated sigh—the coms never stay silent in easy battles, no matter how he dreams.

"Just be glad I have Pietro, Barton, I'd leave you in the dust." She purrs, and she hears several laughs, coupled with Clint's outraged guffaw.

"How dare you, Natasha would never leave me for you anyway, would you Natasha?"

"In a heartbeat." Natasha deadpans, leaving Clint utterly dejected. Darcy smirks ruthlessly to herself and stifles another laugh, forcing herself to turn away from the light hearted interlude and put herself back into 'battle mode.'

She scans the cameras, tuning out the continuing conversation as she accesses the situation, mentally scrolling through the list of combat codes her and Steve have established. In battle, sometimes certain pairings or trios of Avengers are needed for different situations, and the team wasn't always capable of seeing which were needed at the time themselves. So, she and Steve slapped a name on each group of combinations and Darcy memorized them extremely quickly—a feat which Jane dubbed "A true miracle, courtesy of Captain America," considering that Darcy only ever seemed _quickly_ memorize song lyrics. Sassy bitch thinks she's so mature, please.

Using the judgement Tony spent countless hours drilling into her through simulations and actual experience, she is able to make the call swiftly.

Wanda has backed herself against a building, and the Doombots crawling up the walls means she'll need air support within the next few moments, so Darcy will need to get Sam, Tony, or Rhodey over there, Natasha has branched off from Steve, and is currently taking on a huge circle of opponents solo. Not an urgent issue, hand to hand is her strength, but she'll need someone matching those skills rather quickly. Instinctivlly Darcy would send her Clint, but the man in question is currently on top of a building, attempting to play sniper from a ledge, but still trying to keep the bots from climbing up towards him. He'll need someone good on ground game.

It only takes her a moment more to think of a good combo to call, once she sees who needs what.

"Steve, I advise SPRINGTIME positions, quickly." She says calmly. She always runs these calls by Steve first, because he _is_ the leader and sometimes there are reasons to make a different choice. She sees him nod in assent though, and it warms her that he doesn't even question her, despite the fact this maneuver isn't one they use often. For the most part the Avengers stick to ALPHA positions, but this is the closest match for what they need. This one pairs Natasha and Bucky, Wanda and Tony, Clint and Pietro, Steve and Sam, and then Rhodey and Thor. Bruce isn't fighting today, he opted to stay at the tower for this one, but even when he is there, Hulk just goes where there are the most things to smash. If Rhodey's not on scene they can send someone to fight with Hulk, usually Thor, though sometimes Tony.

Darcy watches slightly amazed as they all seamlessly move into their new positions without protest and sync up with one another. She can still remember them fighting about placement during battle in the beginning, Cap yelling the entire time, Tony snarking unhelpfully back, Natasha and Clint constantly reluctant to fight with anyone but each other. But now, they all work together and move so _easily_ , all falling into step as like muscle memory. It is poetry in motion if she has anything to say about it.

Jane can keep the stars, give Darcy a little asskicking to gawk at and she'll be smiling all week. There's much more beauty to behold here in her humble opinion…especially Cap in that spandex—yummy.

In those positions, the rest of the bots fall easily, unable to compete with the force that is the Avengers, especially when working at their most efficient.

"Almost done Cap, I think Wanda and I have the last few." Tony says, slightly out of wind. Darcy frowns at that, watching the genius's laggy movements on screen and swerving her chair a little to look at Jarvis' stats. She glares at the screen when she sees that the Iron Man suit is almost dead; Tony won't even have enough juice to get it back to the tower.

She makes a note to inform Steve, but decides not to mention it on the coms right now at the risk of distracting Wanda and Tony, who do indeed have the last few.

Quickly checking one last time that all other teams are safe, she rivets her eyes on Tony and Wanda, watching the other woman destroy Doombots scuttling on the ground with a flick of her hand, and Tony blast the last few of the surrounding buildings, until eventually the last one crashes to its fiery demise.

Iron Man lands almost instantly after that, shutting down the suit and stepping out of it, pressing his personal com button, the one he hardly uses because of the suit. "And that's a wrap folks," He says all too cheerily. "Hawkeye, you'll have to come get us, my suit is completely out of juice so we'll need to pack it up."

"Will do Iron Man." Clint says quickly on the other screen, sprinting for the jet. Pietro shoots her an evil smirk through the cameras before speeding ahead, beating Clint there, just because he can. She laughs as the archer begins insulting him in several different languages (she recognizes a surprising amount, simply because of who she lives with).

Darcy sighs in relief that the battle is finally over. Cool as it is getting to help the Avengers, the anxiety remains. She can still make mistakes, and every time someone gets hurt,whether she is at fault or not, she can't sleep for days afterwards. So whenever a battle goes smoothly, she treats herself to loads of ice cream, online shopping with Tony's card, and _loads_ of sex with Pietro.

Pietro also enjoys this tradition.

She begins packing away her equipment, and shutting down the monitors when something catches her eye. She looks up just in time to see a half torn Doombot peaking out of the rubble, its blaster aimed straight at Wanda's unprotected back.

Darcy opens her mouth to scream, but Tony beats her to it.

"Wanda!" He yells, running full force at the woman, knocking her out of the way. Unfortunately he doesn't move fast enough, and the beam hits him square in the chest.

He falls in what feels like slow motion, and Darcy can't breathe as she hears Wanda scream. Wanda wastes no time in tearing the bot apart, mechanical pieces flying everywhere. As soon as it's down she drops beside Tony, attempting to rouse the fallen genius. She shakes him panicked, repeatedly calling his name, but he remains unresponsive.

Hastily she pulls off the tattered remains of his smoking shirt (that isn't melted to his skin), in order to look at the injury. His chest, once scarred but still fairly intact, is now a mess of cuts and severe burns, his blood bubbling up from multiple cries out at the sight, desperately feeling for Tony's pulse. Darcy's eyes however remain fixed upon Wanda's hands—slick and painted scarlet with Tony's blood, in some morbidly mesmerizing irony. After a painfully long moment, Wanda chokes, suddenly laughing maniacally in relief as she, apparently finds a pulse, and doesn't hesitate in moving her hands back to Tony's chest, obviously attempting to put pressure as to help stop the bleeding.

It's the steady red pool building around them, despite Wanda's efforts, that snaps Darcy out of her shock.

"Avengers! Iron Man is down, I repeat, Iron Man is down, get to his location immediately!" Darcy can hear herself screaming, her voice only barely understandable it's so thick with tears. Panic begins almost instantly on the other side of the line, but she can no longer hear it, unable to tear herself from the sight of her best friend dying before her horrified eyes.

"Stark, open your eyes, damn you! Don't you die on me!" Wanda screams at the unconscious billionaire, her hysteria building with every word as she desperately attempts to keep him from bleeding out. "We need help, Pietro, someone, anyone, _please_." She begs, and even though she wants to Darcy cannot pull herself out of her shock to assure the woman help is on the way, even though she knows she should.

She needs to _do_ something, but she can't _move._ She's frozen to her chair, her palms shaking and her face white.

The Quinjet lands on site as close as possible to the pair only a few seconds after Wanda yells, and as soon as the door opens slightly Pietro is running out, carefully gathering Tony in his arms and racing him into the jet. He returns in a split second to grab Wanda, and then the doors are closing again, taking off before the door has even fully shut. They are in the air almost immediately, Thor carrying Tony's abandoned suit behind them.

As soon as they are out of sight, Darcy's sense returns slighty, and she's up, out of her chair and screaming for Bruce. They have to have the med wing ready as soon as possible.

She isn't a doctor, but even she knows that every minute counts for Tony right now.


	3. Gasoline

"What happened?" Steve says frantically as Pietro returns to the jet with Wanda in his arms. Wanda begins to stutter and it takes Steve a moment to understand her.

"We- we were finished, he was taking the suit down, there was a bot we missed, it was aiming at me, my back was turned, he pushed me out of the way. It hit him right in the center of the chest….. I've been trying to stop the blood flow but-"

Her voice cracks and Pietro holds her close, visibly shaken. Tony is nearly dead and he only got half the blast, if he hadn't pushed Wanda out of the way….

His grip tightens around his twin as he franticly tries to banish images of his sister's bloody body in Tony's place, a wave of guilt warring with the intense relief that it is Tony, and not Wanda. It's wrong to think like that, he knows it, but as much as he doesn't want Tony to die, it can't compete with the intense pain that the mere thought of living without Wanda fills him with. She and Darcy are the only things that get him up in the morning, and living without her would be like living with a piece of his soul missing.

His gaze wanders to Tony, who felt so light in his arms, and he knows from this point on that if Stark makes it through this, he will do whatever it takes to keep this man alive. Nothing will ever be equal to saving Wanda's life in his eyes, but he will sure as hell try to repay the genius if he can.

Steve and Bucky drop to Tony's side without hesitation, Bucky shedding his vest and ripping his shirt off into pieces and handing a few shreds to Steve, both of them trying to slow the bleeding on Tony's chest. Bucky is composed as always, his eyes dark in a way they only are when he's tapping into his Winter Solider programming. Steve on the other hand, feels his breath starting to come faster as he stares at Tony's rapidly paling face and suddenly sees Bucky's terrified eyes staring up at him as he falls from the train to his death.

He shakes his head violently to banish the image. It won't be like that, he can't let it. Tony is going to live. Tony isn't Bucky. Tony ISN'T going to die. Tony needs him, and he needs to be here, slipping into the past won't help his friend.

Tony's hair is matted with blood, either from an injury sustained during battle or when he fell after the blast. His features are strained, as if even in unconsciousness the pain is too intense for him to relax. His chest is mostly bare now, only a few pieces of cloths stuck fast to the most intense burns are. The cuts don't seem as numerous, but they're still pretty apparent, the fresh wounds contrasting greatly with the patchwork of scars already present on his abused body.

He looks nearly like a corpse and the comparison nearly makes Steve lose his lunch.

"Come on Shellhead, stay with me. We have an Indiana Jones marathon planned for this weekend, and you know how much Buck loves the cheesy action movies you keep showing us."

The desperation in his voice is obvious even to his own ears, and he winces a bit when he feels Natasha's hand brush his back in comfort as she rushes to the cockpit with Clint. He carefully avoids looking at her, because he knows if he sees pity in her eyes he will lose it. Steve was broken when he was defrosted, and Tony was the one who stood by his side. Tony was his patient guide to the 21st century, and when Bucky was returned, he was the only one who completely accepted him without question. Steve had once asked him why he was able to accept his old friend so easily, despite the evidence that Winter Solider murdered his parents. Tony had just looked at him, bewildered and replied, "It wasn't his fault. Plus, you trust him, and that's good enough for me."

"Don't die on me Stark." He hears Bucky whisper; the ex-assassin's emotion leaking through and suddenly Steve can't stop imagining what life will be like if Tony dies.

No more movie marathons, no more pop culture lectures, no more Tony running to Steve's room to calm him down after a nightmare, no more late night talks over hot coca, no more sketching him work in the lab, no Iron Man at his back during fights. No one fighting Clint for the remote on movie night and no one to order two pineapple pizzas just because he knows everyone else hates them and therefor won't steal any. No more tech babble, or lewd comments during fights, or Tony and Darcy's food fights at dinner. No one to tease Pietro about his adoration for Darcy, or bring Wanda new books she'll never ask for because she hasn't accepted that she can have them yet.

Just those images are enough to fuel both his panic and determination. He can't do this without Tony. _They_ can't do this without Tony.

They have to save him, whatever the cost; they cannot lose him like this.

…

 _~One hour later~_

The Avengers, plus Darcy and Pepper, are gathered outside the med wing where Bruce and a few specialists had rushed Tony in for surgery.

The hall is so silent Steve can hear his friend's heartbeats; the strong and steady rhythm of Bucky's the only thing keeping him from flying completely off the edge. Everyone is sitting on the ground because they all blatantly refused to go to the waiting room a couple halls down. Bucky and Steve are sitting side by side across from Natasha and Clint, who are both doing that thing where they speak without words, but with fear heavily present in both of their eyes. Pietro, Wanda and Darcy are next to the two spies, Pietro in the middle with Wanda laying in his lap and Darcy on his shoulder while he strokes their hair, his eyes a million miles away. Poor Darcy looks absolutely wrecked, reminding them all painfully have just how young she truly is. Poor Wanda looks still half in shock, and he knows she is going to have a whole new set of nightmares tonight based on her expression. Steve knows her well enough by now to know that she blames herself for Tony's injury, even if that is ridiculous.

Rhodey, Sam, and Pepper are nearest to Steve, Rhodey trying to comfort Pepper in Tony's stead while Sam tries to comfort his lover. Rhodey looks like the only reason he's holding it together is for Pepper, who has forgone any such appearances.

Pepper looks broken and beaten in a way none of them have ever seen her before. Her eyes are puffy and red from crying, her expression vacant while her gaze remains glued to a seemingly random point on the floor. It scares him more than he'd like to think about that she is so rattled, as long as he's known her Pepper has been the most composed woman he has ever met, dealing with Tony's worst stunts like they were child's play. It's hard to believe she's a civilian as well as she handles this, but Steve knows she only does it for Tony. They have a strange bond, Pepper and Tony. He's not exactly sure if they're still dating, it hasn't been something they wanted to bring up. He never saw them kiss around the Avengers, like they have before Ultron. Other than that though, he hasn't noticed much difference. Pepper still stays at the tower whenever she's in town, she still frets endlessly over Tony, and they have dinner every other Tuesday night barring emergency. Looking at her now, an outsider wouldn't hesitate to say that Tony is her lover, but Steve isn't so sure. Some bonds are that close even without romance. Like him and Peggy. They loved each other more than they could explain and they had kissed, as an expression of affection, but he doesn't think they would have worked as a couple. Peggy was in love with her work and Steve was still trying to figure out exactly who he was.

Steve don't doubt Peggy suffered any less than Pepper is right now when he crashed the plane, or as he know he will when Peggy passes, no matter what Tony and Pepper's relationship status is. They will always be soulmates, one way or another.

Thor is hovering near Darcy, he's been protective of her since she began staying here, and his whole body radiates tension. He looks unsure of what to do and that seems to only fuel his anger. They can hear the storm raging outside and they're all a bit worried, but not enough to say anything. After all, everyone else is just trying to hold themselves together, Steve can only imagine the frustration Thor, a near God, has at being helpless.

Suddenly the quiet is shattered when the doors to the medical ward fly open, Bruce storming right past them, tears streaming down his face and the expression of a barley repressed Hulk at the forefront. "Come on." He growls, not even stopping, already turning the corner to the next hallway before everyone scrambles up to follow him, Pepper somehow beating them all to his side.

"Bruce? Oh God tell me he's alright Bruce. Please!" Her voice quivers and Bruce slows a little, taking the time to reach down and grab her hand, still guiding them all through the hallway as quickly as possible.

"Pepper, he's bad. His heart stopped twice, and they don't think he's going to make it. But I don't accept that. I won't. Tony and I, we've been working on a new version of Extremis. It can save his life, but Fury forbade me from using this, said the government has forbid everyone from creating anymore superhumans after what happened with me. But I'm going to do it anyway, and if any of you try to stop me….. don't try to stop me." He growls, the threat apparent and Steve hesitates for a moment, thinking it over.

"W-Would Tony, would Tony be alright with this?" Is all he says, as they approach a silver door Steve hasn't seen before. That isn't really surprising though since he doesn't like hanging around the Medical Floor, and avoids it as much as possible. Bruce's eyes fly to his, and he seems shocked that Steve didn't argue with him. That sends a little twinge of self-doubt though him, and he wonders if his teammates know exactly how much they mean to him. He loves his country, but he isn't going to watch his friend die because some government official is scared there will be another Hulk. Steve knows Bruce wouldn't give Tony anything that risky anyway. He just needs to know that this is what Tony wants and he'll be at Bruce's side in this no matter what happens, and by the looks of relief and acceptance on the rest of the group's, his _family's_ , faces he assumes he isn't alone in that sentiment. Bruce doesn't answer him for a moment, typing in an overly long code into the keypad.

Bruce enters the last digit and the keypad glows, processing. Bruce bites his lip in thought, finally looking back at Steve, and sighs. "Tony and I…. we had this conversation when we created New Extremis, and he told me I could use it on him if we needed him. I'm taking the loophole in that, because I will always need him, and I _can't_ watch him die." Bruce's voice is pleading, desperate in a way Steve wishes he didn't understand and Steve nods as the silver door finally slides open.

"Save him." Is all he can, his words heavy with emotion. Bruce shoots Steve a look of immense gratitude before disappearing into the new room, and Steve prays to God that they're doing the right thing. Even if they aren't, he won't regret it. He knows he won't. None of them will, he realizes as Natasha give his hand a comforting squeeze. They're all willfully defying the government right now, and not a single one of them can bring themselves to care. They won't lose Tony now, and that's all that matters.

…

New Extremis worked beautifully.

Tony was healed within an hour and not only was his new injuries gone; all damage from the Arc Reactor was gone as well. The scars, nearly faded but not gone, were the only evidence it had ever happened at all. There was, however, one unforeseen effect.

Tony's body was now the physical equivalent of 29.

He was still mentally the same as he was before the accident, but his body now looked exactly how it had when he was 29, making him the now physically the same age as Steve.

Both Tony and Bruce had been aware his aging would be slowed to that of Steve's and Bucky's, but the sudden youth neither genius had anticipated. Tony was only a little bit stronger than an average human now, like Natasha, but his healing factor was almost that of Steve's, and he could go a lot longer without sleep and food than he used to.

The U.S. government was furious, and publically pressed charges against all of the Avengers minus Tony, who hadn't been awake to participate in the "Crime." Tony put his fortune to good use and hired the best lawyers in the country for his team, and after a month long heated court battle, the charges were dropped.

Protests against the Avengers' court victory were raging through the entire world, calling for justice against the heroes. Many said that they were receiving special treatment and that the "Heroes" acted above the law.

Simply as that the gasoline was poured and all that was left was for someone to light the match.

 **Well I'm completely unsure about this chapter, but I needed to move the storyline along so here you are. Enjoy.**


	4. Jaded

~ _Two months ago~_

Jane is worried.

The Avengers, Ms. Potts, even _Darcy_ , they've grown….bitter.

She watches Tony from the doorway of the kitchen, a small frown on her face. The genius is pacing back and forth across the living room floor, his face contorted in anger as he reads something on his tablet, no doubt the numerous hate articles and protest coverage that has been popping up since the Avengers' trial.

Jane marvels at bit at his appearance, she's only seen the man a couple times since his accident and transfusion with New Extremis, and it is still highly strange for her as a scientist to see a middle aged man who she has known for a while suddenly reverted to his late twenties. He doesn't look drastically different in the sense he no longer looks like Tony Stark, but the difference is substantial enough there was no way to hide it. The makeup artists had tried, but to no success. They told him to give up the ruse of trying to appear his usual self, and Tony was thankful. He wanted to embrace his new appearance from day one, and he is right to. He let himself keep the goatee, but after he was honest with the press he grew his hair out longer, and stopped styling it. It now has grown into soft curls that really highlight his new youth, along with his now more defined muscles. He looks exactly like the pictures of him from his twenties, except he still acts the same way as before the accident. No one can deny he is still Tony Stark for long, even though the press has tried, and failed. Thankfully, he has defiantly not reverted to his twenty year old self's behavior. Everyone knows how irresponsible Tony Stark was in his twenties, wasting his days drinking and partying, sleeping with a new girl every night and forgetting her in the morning. It must have been a lonely existence.

Darcy told Jane that when Tony discovered that he was getting a second chance at youth, one even longer than the first, the man had nearly cried with joy. He made so many mistakes the first time around, and then Iron Man came so late in his life that he had been afraid he would never have time to erase his legacy as the Merchant of Death. This is his second chance to do something worthy with life, and Jane knew that he isn't planning on wasting it.

That's part of the reason Jane is watching him now, because his now almost ever present anger is such a drastic difference to the hope and elation he displayed when he first healed. Though to be fair that was before the trial, before people started turning on the them left and right, and the genius has seemed to perfect blaming both himself and the public. Tony Stark is a master at the blame game, even if he is usually pointing the finger at the mirror.

"Tony? You alright?" Jane jumps a bit at the sound of Natasha's voice as the assassin strolls out from the entryway across from where Jane is standing now. The redhead's eyes meet her own curiously for a moment and then shift back to the pacing brunette. She's respecting Jane's wishes and waiting for her to come out on her own, and Jane adds some mental points in the woman's favor. Natasha must have startled Tony as well; the billionaire stops pacing so fast he almost topples over. Natasha reads his distress quickly, and crosses the room to him. Tony just stands there, looking lost, and Jane almost steps out herself to comfort him. Natasha's face falls and without another word she pulls Tony into a hug.

"What's wrong?" Natasha whispers to him and there's beat of silence.

"They _hate_ us Natasha. Everyone. We've saved their lives, we've risked our own, and they hate us because you saved me. It makes me wonder if- if you made the right call." The last is whispered and there's so much anger, so much pain, Jane takes an involuntary step forward to go to him, almost exposing herself. She steps back quickly, Jane knows she isn't what Tony needs right now. Natasha freezes, her entire body coiling as if he slapped her, and she pulls away from Tony, glaring at him.

"Anthony Edward Stark," Natasha growls furiously, forcing him to look at her. "Don't you ever say that again! It was not only the right call, but the only call. We will take their hatred and scorn and whatever else we need to keep you here with us. Bruce kept his word, he used Extremis on you because we _need_ you, and we will always need you. You have no idea how painful it was to think we were going to lose you. So don't you tell me we didn't make the right call, because watching you die wasn't an option."

With that she yanks the tablet out of his hand and tosses it to the farthest part of the couch, pulling herself and Tony onto the other end. Natasha curls up into the cushions and pulls Tony's head down to lay in her lap. She starts stroking his hair, a soothing motion Natasha, Pepper, and Darcy often do to calm down the others down.

At that moment Clint chooses to come in searching for Natasha, but hesitates when he sees her. The two spies stare at each other, words obviously flying between them even though neither is speaking, and no, Darcy wasn't exaggerating it is quite unnerving. They obviously know each other better than Jane originally thought, because they both look involved in a deep conversation, and only thing she understands is Clint's glance at the disguarded tablet.

Clint nods to Natasha without a word in reply and lifts Tony's feet, sitting down and then laying them across lap.

Both are watching him with worry, anger and protectiveness emanating from both their postures. Jane feels a slight tug of pain in her heart, seeing that.

Tony's near death tore everyone apart. Right after the incident Jane thought they might never leave his side again, and Thor told her they were all piling into his bed every night for a couple weeks after he healed, to reassure themselves he's alive. Tony never complained as far as she's aware, and she knows from Darcy it still happens occasionally. Jane herself has woken poor Darcy up from many nightmares as the girl cries out for Tony and mumbles incoherently about scarlet on Wanda's hands being terrible irony; Jane wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the team needs the reassurance from their nightmares occasionally as well.

After that and then the trial, the team is closer than ever, one of which is Darcy now an official member, if not a public one. They stopped being friends, and became a family. A family that generously lets her in and protects her as ferociously as they protect each other; makes her feel she belongs. Lately they mean more to each other than anything and everything else.

"Why the hell are they such assholes?" Tony growls, his sadness losing out to his fury. "We've saved the world and they pull this crap because you juice me up on a mild serum, so I can live to save their sorry asses once again? For fuck's sake they want us all shut down! They want Thor banished back to Asgard, Cap thrown in a lab, Pepper and I stripped of our rights to Stark Industries and fortunes, then they want to force me create weapons for the government again as community service! There are about a thousand people calling for Natasha, Pietro and Wanda to be deported for foreign trial, a few are calling for even Jane's credibility to be erased and her research to be halted. The poor woman wasn't even there for the decision!"

Tony's takes a breath and Jane mentally prepares knowing whatever the billionaire says next is by far the worst.

"They want Bruce and Bucky _exterminated. Like insects._ But that's not even the worst, no, the worst is they want not only Clint, but _Darcy_ thrown in prison for _life."_

Jane grits her teeth and scowls, her own anger surfacing. Darcy is a soft spot, for them all. She loves that girl like the sister she never had, and so do they. Tony by far is the closest to her, excluding Pietro, the two seem like they've known each other their entire life. Darcy keeps them all grounded, takes care of them.

"Those ungrateful, pathetic bastards! How dare they?!" Natasha snarls, and Clint nods in agreement, clenching his jaw, his eyes blazing.

"They want to make an American Icon a lab experiment? I cannot believe these people. Why do we even bother saving their sorry asses? Every single time we Assemble and fight the latest nut job of the week they build up more and more charges to try and convict us with. Maybe we should just let them handle it on their own." Clint's tone is venomous and it makes Jane nervous. This is how all the Avengers have been as of late. This anger towards the public, who while misguided are still mostly innocent people, is frightening. She's glad they are protective of each other, but they are supposed to protect and serve the people of Earth, and lately… she isn't sure if they want to. Even Steve, who she would have expected to remain optimistic and keep up team moral, has stopped trying to save face with the public. As the number of threats towards everyone grows, and the news begins to liken the heroes to the villains, Steve seems to have stopped caring.

They all have.

"Jane? Are you alright?" A voice sounds behind her and Jane spins around, nearly toppling Darcy over in her surprise. Her intern turned friend steadies her with a teasing smirk. "Geez it's just me, and I'm only the like, third hottest person who lives here. No need to trip over your feet." Darcy smiles warmly, and maybe Jane is wrong, maybe not everyone has stopped caring. Jane can't really pinpoint when Darcy blossomed like this, though she knows it happened after she came to live here, and started dating Pietro. He in particular has been a godsend of epic proportions towards her former intern's happiness. He and Darcy fit so well, with their similar personalities. He never takes offense to Darcy's more quirky habits or shameless flirting with any attractive human in her vicinity, hell; he actually seems to do the same. Not to mention his obvious adoration for her Darcy, Pietro looks at her like there isn't any other woman on Earth, and Jane knows for him there never will be.

"I'm fine Darcy, just people watching. Where's Pietro?" Jane asks and Darcy no more opens her mouth before a quick breeze announces the speedster's presence at Darcy's side. He kisses Darcy as the announcement of his entrance before pulling back to smile brightly at Jane, faking an apologetic shrug. "Dr. Foster, terribly sorry to….dash in like this. I'm not interrupting am I?"

Jane rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, leaning back against the doorframe, and fixes a faux glare on him.

"Pietro I have told you a thousand times, call me Jane. And no you didn't, Darcy was just regaling me with her fascinating status as third most attractive member of this team." She tries to sound irritates, but it just comes out amused and fond.

Pietro gasps in mock outrage, pulling Darcy against his side and making a show of looking her over.

"Third? My Angel? Surly you rank second, after me of course." Darcy blushes, something the poor girl never seems to stop doing around her boyfriend, and then recovers to grin wolfishly at him. "Second huh? I don't know blondie I think all those miles are starting to give you a little wear and tear. The old muscles starting to get worn out ya know?" Darcy pats his arm and makes sad eyes, as if he was in anything other than perfect shape. Pietro whines dramatically and turns towards Jane with over the top wounded eyes.

"Jane darling she doubts my excellent physical condition! Can you believe this treachery?!" He pulls away from Darcy in a huff, throwing his arm in front of his face.

"Oh how can someone so beautiful be so cruel?!" He sobs loudly, and this time Darcy herself rolls her eyes and smacks him gently on the arm. "Oh come on you big baby, let's go mess with Tony about how adorable his curls make him look, that always makes you feels better. I think we interrupted one of Jane's deep thought processes. What are they doing in there anyway?" She turns, addressing Jane and the older woman falters for a moment before deciding to own up to her eavesdropping.

"They were talking about the protests. There's been more threats and Tony is….." What is Tony? Angry? Sad? Both? "….Upset" She finishes hesitantly, and to her surprise the color drains out of the couples' face instantly. Darcy's expression morphs into simply concerned, while Pietro's goes icy, almost…. dangerous. Jane almost thinks she sees him step in front of Darcy protectively, but he moves so fast she can't quite tell. It stuns her a moment, because she has _never_ seen the joyous man look like that, but before she can comment on it, all traces of anger disappear from his expression. He smiles so quickly Jane has to wonder if it was all in her imagination, and with a respectful nod in her direction the speedster sweeps Darcy off her feet, and they both disappear.

That is….. strange.

Jane bites her lip and lets her gaze wander back to the group gathered in the living room, Steve now having joined them sometimes during her conversation with the love birds.

He is sitting on the other end of the couch and is now scrolling through Tony's abandoned tablet, a blank expression on his face. Pietro and Darcy are comfortably wrapped around each other in the big bowl chair, picking on Tony playfully, making the genius light up visibly. They seem to have that effect on people, even her own dark thoughts were mostly forgotten the moment they stepped into the kitchen.

Distracted by her own train of thought, Jane misses the presence behind her, and barely can hold in a shriek when strong arms sweep her off her feet and carry her through the doorway. "My lady, let us converse." Thor's soft voice purrs in her ear so only she can hear it, and Jane finds herself situated on his lap in in the chair nearest to Darcy and Pietro, the rest of the team paying them no notice except for a friendly greeting.

"Sir, I hate to interrupt but there a swarm of giant mechanical spiders attacking Washington D.C and the Avengers assistance has been requested." Jarvis says slowly, and if Jane didn't know any better his tone would seem hesitant. Almost if a flip has been switched, everyone in the room freezes and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife; for a nervously long moment, Jane almost thinks they are going to refuse.

Finally Clint of all people sighs, gently pushing Tony's feet off his lap and standing. "Come on guys, I'll go gather everyone else, let's meet at the jet in 15." Then with a parting look at Natasha and Steve, he rushes out the door.

Pietro groans and looks to Darcy, who simply smiles regretfully. "Rain check?" she says. Pietro frowns for a moment, and then pulls them both out of their pretzel-like position and onto their feet. He leans in slowly and kisses Darcy passionately on the lips, then pulls away to brush his lips against her forehead. "Come on Coach, we've got a game to win." He laughs teasingly and Jane barely has time to hear Darcy whine "I tell Clint to get his head in the game _one time_ and I get _Coach_ as my codename!?" Before Pietro sweeps her off her feet once again and with only a small wave goodbye from Darcy, they're gone. Again.

Thor shifts underneath Jane and she stands, Thor following her up. He pulls her in, wrapping his arms around tightly around her waist, his eyes shining with emotions she can't decipher. He leans down and kisses her gently, his lips soft and warm as always, sending electricity down her spine. She still hasn't quite figured out if that's because of his powers, or just because of him. She's willing to bet on the latter.

"I will return as quickly as possible my lady, I hate to part with you on your visit, but alas I must help my brethren. Perhaps we may have dinner upon my return?" He says warmly, his voice a sweet mix of regretful and hopeful and Jane can't help but smile. "Go save the world, I'll be here when you get back." She whispers reassuringly and he nods in thanks, kissing her on the cheek once more before sweeping out, Natasha quietly following him.

That leaves only herself, Tony, and Steve who are staring at each other intensely, some conversation going on that she can't understand, before Steve tosses the tablet into the bowl chair Darcy and Pietro vacated and helps Tony up. They both respectfully nod at her, Tony actually giving her a pitying smile, and then they depart as well. She wasn't expecting a lot of goodbyes; they never do that before a mission, even with Pepper. Bad luck or something of that sort.

Jane doesn't get up to follow, even though she would usually hang around Darcy and provide another set of eyes for the camera. Darcy is more than fine on her own now, and she doesn't want to intrude on the other's job now that she doesn't need the help.

In any case, she can't quite move as her attention fixates on the abandoned tablet a few feet from her, an article with the Secretary of Defense's face plastered at the top, the headline reading "Officials Address Superhuman Crisis; Avengers' Actions Brought To Question."

But that isn't what holds her gaze. It's what's on top of that.

The tablet glass is shattered, and Steve's fingers are outlined in the cracks.

~ _ **Okay just so everyone is aware, I have written this chapter at least five different ways now, from different points of view and finally settled on this one, which I'm still not particularly satisfied with. I hope you are though, as you can tell things are being put into motion, and the deaths are going to be starting very soon. So, beware. Love you all, thank you for reading, let me know what you think! ~**_


	5. And The Angels Will Weep

As protests increased the Avengers, the X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and even the lone heroes were seen less and less, only surfacing for huge battles, and even then disappearing as soon as the battle finished. Protesters lined up at the homes of known heroes and everyone was beginning to wish they had a secret identity to fall back on. Stark Industries stock was like a roller coaster, people would try and boycott it, but honestly they couldn't deny Stark Industries had the best tech, and no one could deny themselves for long. Potential business partners had almost completely vanished though, and Pepper was fighting the board so often one day she nearly fired all of them in a fit of rage.

Whenever the heroes tried to venture out they would have food thrown at them, vicious words flying from every corner. Things were rapidly devolving into chaos. Shield was under fire, being pressured to disband and arrest the Avengers, so their calls happened rarely.

But then Aliens invaded New York once again and there was no avoiding it.

The World needed the Avengers, no matter how much they hated them.

….

 _~One month ago~_

Tony groans as he lands on the pavement, breath heaving as Pietro and Bucky come up behind him. "Stark? Status?" Bucky says worryingly and Tony waves him off.

"I'm fine Barnes, just a little tired." He groans, and Pietro laughs, slapping Tony's back as the genius steps out of his suit, it falling into pieces behind him. A new feature he added to make them easier to dispose of when a suit died, instead of Thor having to try and lug it back to the Tower. "Ah come on Stark, a little battle with space vampires shouldn't wear you out this much!" The speedster teases weakly, looking quite worn out himself.

Tony raises an unamused eyebrow. "Little battle Maximoff? Little? Three days with gigantic space vampires, I will kick your ass to next week, don't even test me. Fucking _little._ " Pietro just rolls his eyes at the genius' ranting and focuses on the landing Quinjet, his face lighting up as Darcy runs out of the opening doors like a bat out of hell.

"Pietro!" She calls happily, leaping into the man's arms and wrapping herself around him like an octopus, pulling him into a fierce kiss. "I love you so much, my god, I hate being away from you." She says in between kisses and Tony groans. "Ugg kids keep it G-Rated please." He whines and Darcy turns to stick her tongue out at him, before continuing to shove it down Pietro's throat. Tony flinches and shakes his head, he is teaching this girl too much, well, either that or his bad behavior really is contagious.

Darcy usually stays at the tower during battles, but this time between the protesters in front of the tower, the giant vampire-ish aliens running amuck and knocking cameras down, they decided it was better to keep her in the air and nearby, not only for her protection but so she could pick one of them up if they got injured and then get them back into the fray relatively quickly. It had been a hell of a battle; Tony is quite expecting there to be protesters gathering any moment to flame them for their protection. Because the Avengers saved their lives and all, but look at all the _property damage_!

Tony scowls at his own thoughts and tries to ignore the loud sound of kissing beside him, (He's pretty sure Maximoff is being loud purposely, the little shit) but as soon as he redirects his attention Sam and Rhodey land, and it doesn't take more than the mere moments Rhodey needs to get out of his suit before they're crashing together, seemingly trying to crawl into each other's skin as they kiss. He sighs again and feels a twinge of sadness, thinking of Pepper and chances. He's happy for his friends, he really is, especially Darcy because he would literally buy the moon to make that girl happy, but he gets lonely sometimes too.

As Clint and Natasha wrap themselves around each other as well, not even bothering with dramatic embraces and just getting straight to the dirty kissing, all teeth and tongue, Tony is about to start complaining about clichés when Thor lands, Hulk running behind him.

Tony sees the frantic wild look on Hulk's face and instinctively begins to approach slowly, without his suit, something he knows Bruce will ream him about tomorrow. Hell, the entire team will more likely. But he isn't stupid; his suit is useless at this point anyway, completely drained. He would have to call another which he doesn't have time for, because he and Natasha are the only ones able to calm down the Hulk on a good day. And after a transformation this long? Only Tony will be able to pull this off. Hulk seems to have a soft spot for him, though no one can tell if that's because his armor is shiny or because he and Bruce are so close. But either way, it works with him, so he needs to do this now before Hulk goes looking for more things to smash, and if the look on his face is anything to go by that time isn't far away.

"Hey Big Guy," Tony says softly, and Hulk's gaze zeros in on him. "You okay?"

Hulk looks at him a moment, his feral gaze softening a bit and Tony continues, encouraged.

"You did well, Hulk, thank you. We couldn't have won without you." Tony smiles and gently lays his hand on Hulk's leg, because he's slightly delirious from exhaustion today and he just feels like petting the Hulk is a good decision. He doesn't even have to turn around to know Steve's eyes are bugging out at his recklessness, but Hulk just smiles and sits, shaking the ground a little as he pulls Tony up into his lap with surprising restraint. Tony hiccups a little from the sudden jolt, and quickly holds up a hand to let the team know to stand down.

"Tin Man okay?" Hulk says and Tony nods, smiling, and then continues to pet Hulk's hand. It seems to be calming to the Big Guy.

"I'm peachy Big Guy, in large part thanks to you. But I need to talk to Bruce for a while okay? I have to take care of him. He's gonna be real tired and hungry from all the great smashing you did." Hulk frowns a bit but nods.

"Tony take care of Banner?" Hulk says, and Tony nods gratefully. "We'll all take care of Banner, _and_ Hulk. Okay buddy?" The Hulk nods, and slowly begins to shrink down, until Tony has a lapful of mostly naked and unconscious Bruce in his arms. Before Tony can even move muscle, Thor sweeps the other scientist into his arms, giving Tony an approving grin before heading off to talk to with Steve; finally leaving Tony to just sit there and catch his breath for the first time in days.

"Stark, you're a moron and if I had energy I would beat the shit out of you for that stunt." Bucky says, suddenly appearing out of nowhere and plopping down on the street next to Tony. He's filthy, like the rest of them, but somehow it doesn't look quite as bad on Bucky. Clint has the same power, assholes, the both of them.

"Well I don't have the energy to justify it so how about we head home and catch some sleep so I can be lectured about Hulk handling at a later time?" Tony says dryly and is rewarded with barest hint of a smirk. Bucky opens his mouth to reply but just as he starts to speak, an array vans and helicopters begin pulling up, surrounding them on all sides.

Both men are on their feet before they can blink, getting back to back with the rest of their team members, defenses up. Tony thinks for a moment it might just be the paparazzi and protesters moving in, until Nick Fury and Maria Hill, with the backup of what has to be most of Shield begin pouring out of the vans. Every single one of them is armed to the teeth, and Tony feels a horrible dread start twisting through his gut.

"Fury? What are you doing here?" Steve says cautiously, and Nick approaches until he's a few feet in front of Tony, ignoring the Captain all together. The ever faint look of guilt in the man's eye is all Tony needs to confirm his ever growing suspicion.

"You son of a bitch." Tony whispers, and Nick's expression falls for a moment. Tony can feel Bucky grip his arm, trying to ask what's going on but Tony can't answer, because he can't quite believe it.

"I'm sorry, but the President has issued his orders to eliminate a global threat, there's nothing I can do. Stark, Lewis, you both can surrender and you will be taken into custody. That's the best I have, I'm truly sorry." Nick actually genuinely does sound sorry, but Tony can't bring himself to care. Not anymore.

"Well I guess I should have expected this really, after Obie." Tony hisses at the man, and Fury flinches, pulling out his gun slowly and aiming it at Tony, his hand shaking ever so slightly. "Tony, please. Back down, live to fight another day."

Tony lurches forward, practically growling, and he feels Bucky's grip tighten in an effort to keep him from charging at the armed man. "What? So I can live the rest of my life in prison knowing I let my friends die? Well thanks ever so much, I guess I better start hunting for a "World's Best Godfather" mug huh? I mean Obie ripped my heart out; you're just _imprisoning_ me and _murdering_ the people I love. No. Never, you lying piece of shit. I'll die first." Tony snarls and can feel the rest of the team tensing for battle behind him, the gravity of the situation finally hitting home.

Nick's features are pained for a mere second before he schools himself again and sighs. "I'm sorry to hear that. Lewis?" He says nonchalantly, and Tony hears Darcy stomp up behind him, only held back by his and Bucky's bracketing arms.

"Not a chance asshole. Unlike you, I'm not a coward, and I'll stand with my friends until the end." The young woman declares, more strength in her tone than possibly belongs there, and Tony risks a glance behind him at Pietro, whose face has gone ashen as he looks between Darcy and his sister. Tony can tell the younger man is quite aware this betrayal means the chances they all get out of this today is very slim. Tony wants to say something, anything, but before he can he becomes aware of the agents closing in around them and presses his bracelet, praying to a god he doesn't believe in that a suit is able to make it here.

Fury looks at him sadly another moment, and centers his gun on Tony's chest, but before Fury even gets his finger on the trigger the gun is swept up in a flash of blue, and Tony catches sight of Pietro falling back in place behind him before the rest of the agents move in sync towards the Avengers, weapons drawn.

And so the real battle begins.

Bucky pushes Tony behind him easily with Darcy, who in turn Tony places behind him. Tony looks around frantically, looking for anything he can do, when he catches sight of Thor, looking conflicted. Bruce is still unconscious in his arms and Tony's eyes widen as he gets an idea. Maybe there is a way some of them can get out of this.

"THOR! He screams, and the God is at his side in a flash, shooting a concerned look at the frustrated Darcy, who is holding her tazer in front of her defensively.

"Thor, get Darcy and Bruce out of here. Now. There's somewhere safe, Darcy can show you how to get there, but go, now." Tony snaps, his eyes flicking to the rest of his exhausted teammates trying to keep the upper hand against the stupid number of agents surrounding them, Natasha and Clint looking horrified as they take down men and women who likely use to be their colleagues, friends. Rhodey's suit is as dead as his and Sam's damaged wings are the only thing keeping him on top at the moment, but bullet after bullet is whizzing through the air next to them and it's only a matter of time before someone grounds him. Bucky and Steve are working together flawlessly together as always in time with Wanda and Pietro, who are doing their damnedest to keep a wall between their enemies and Darcy, and to a lesser extent Tony. They've all learned he's pretty good at taking care of himself. But Shield couldn't have planned this any better, every single one of them is off their game, their main heavy hitter is out for the count and Tony is about to send their other one away with him. The odds are not anywhere near being in his favor today apparently. Even distracted as is he has to wonder for a moment how long Fury had been planning this, and how he was so blind once again.

"No Tony, I can't." Darcy protests and he grabs her wrist, glaring at her. "Darcy get out of here now, you're a liability and we need you protected." He commands his voice as serious as he's ever heard it. Darcy just shakes her head stubbornly and glares back, her green eyes brimming with fire and anger.

"Tony if Bruce wakes up while we're in midair Thor has to be able to deal with it; I would just be in the way if Hulk comes out to play. He has to go." She reasons and Tony nearly panics because dammit she's right, but he has to get her out of here. He suddenly finds himself wishing Vision hadn't gone off to explore the galaxy; because holy shit could they use some air support right about now.

Thor looks just as unhappy as he is, but he reluctantly nods.

"I'll be back for you Darcy." Thor says, and it's a promise. The girl nods and leans in, telling him where to go. After a moment Thor nods again, looking somber, but swings his hammer and sores up into the air, flying right into a helicopter and causing it to crash into the nearest one on his way. Darcy look at Tony, still defiant and he sighs angrily. "Stay behind Darcy, I mean it. You have to stay safe, and if anyone gets injured you're going to have to guard them until Thor returns." Darcy nods in agreement and he looks back towards the battlefield.

"Tony!" Natasha calls and he swings around in time to catch the gun she throws his way and see her come head to head with Maria Hill. Usually he would call that in Natasha's favor, but Hill is easily in better shape than Natasha right now and he can't help but worry, even as the redhead meets the other woman blow for blow.

They need to get out of here.

He centers himself in front of Darcy, shooting anyone who manages to get through Bucky, Steve, Pietro and Wanda. He racks his brain for a plan, his eyes flicking to his suit and doing calculations in his head. He gets and idea just as their little system in getting into sync, and together they're doing pretty well, until Pietro falls to the ground clutching his leg.

Tony curses and jets out of the circle, grabbing Pietro's arms and dragging him behind the line to relative safety, Darcy at his side helping him lift the younger man. She's frantic; tears' streaming down her face as she quickly pulls off her over shirt and presses it to his leg, trying to staunch the thankfully minimal bleeding. Pietro pulls her in and kisses her and it's desperate. When he pulls off he looks her in the eyes, complete, unconditional love there, and Tony barley hears him whisper "You are my everything, even if I die today, you make it all worth it. Thank you my Angel, I have worshipped you since I laid eyes on you." Darcy had tears in her eyes and Tony hears her say back, "You're not dead yet asshole, but you made it all worth it to me too. You are all the best parts of me."

Tony feels his own tears bubble in his eyes and turns away, standing in between the two young lovers and any oncoming threats. Pietro's injury doesn't look too severe, likely a graze, he will probably be able to stand again in a moment after a little of his accelerated healing kicks in and the shock has worn off. But he knows both of the them are aware this will likely be their last chance to say goodbye; Thor is coming back to get Darcy, but the rest of the Avengers know, he can see it in their eyes. They all are aware this will likely be their last stand.

He redraws his attention to the battle and sees Wanda move in beside him to watch over her brother and his girlfriend. There's worry written all over her features and while the genius wishes he could stop and say something, he now has an opening while Darcy and Pietro are protected. Tony moves out of their little circle before Wanda can stop him, making a mad dash for his suit. He can hear Wanda and Darcy screaming at him, and the bullets ripping through the air all around his head, but by some miracle he makes it and falls to his knees in front of the piece of scraps his armor has become. Within seconds feels a presence behind him and turns to see Clint standing guard at his back, arrows flying in all directions. Clint nods at him, letting Tony know that someone has his back.

He smiles in sharp relief because focusing is so much easier when he isn't trying not to get shot in the back, and gets to work. He grabs his chest piece and begins pressing the releases in the right order and after a moment hear hears the ever faint hiss as the Arc Reactor slips loose of its casing. He can barely hear it though, as at that moment, Cap's shield takes out the two machine guns on the nearest helicopter, causing it to crash as well. Only two left of those, thank the universe for small mercies.

Tony pulls the reactor out and starts fiddling with it, his hands shaking ever so slightly before he rears back and tosses it into the air, hard, and then goes running. He grabs Clint's hand and pulls the archer with him.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" He screams, tackling Clint and covering the other man's body with his own as the Arc explodes behind them, blowing the last two helicopters to hell and sending a fiery mess down on top of the agents on the ground. Tony can hear many screaming in pain and it sends a reluctant pang of guilt shooting through him.

Tony looks up quickly, and sees everyone has frozen for a moment, distracted by the explosion of his suit and the Reactor. Steve and Bucky are separated now, having to spread out to cover ground since Wanda is now protecting Darcy with Pietro. Thankfully, the blonde is once again on his feet, if moving at a much slower pace than before. Steve turns to face Tony and Clint, checking their status, and Tony sees Fury stand up out in the corner of his eye, taking aim at the Captain's exposed back.

"STEVE!" He screams frantically, and Bucky hears him, catching sight of Fury and charging at the man, hitting him the moment he pulls the trigger. A gunshot rings out, somehow louder by far than the chaos around them, even if Tony knows that shouldn't be possible.

Everything freezes; time moving in slow motion and Tony is on his feet within a minute, fear gripping his heart. His eyes fly to Steve, who is standing, seemingly intact, staring at Bucky and Fury, holding his breath and waiting for his friend to get up.

For a seemingly endless moment, nothing happens, and then Bucky shoots to his feet, Fury's gun in his hand, aiming it at one eye himself, completely untouched. Tony's sighs in relief, and he can visibly see Clint and Steve do the same thing. That was close, too close. Tony takes a couple of quick steps towards Steve before he hears it.

A soft gasp, followed by a choked cry of pain, both unmistakably feminine.

His heart stops completely and the breath is sucked out of his lungs. With lead seeping through his blood he turns towards the noise, every cell of his being screaming out to any god who will listen that it didn't hit Wanda, who Tony _knows_ was standing closest to Steve, please god no let it be one of the agents, not Wanda, please.

He turns, and it isn't Wanda.

Darcy is standing shocked behind Wanda, her hand over her heart, and blood is pouring out between her fingers. Her emerald eyes meet Tony's, tears pooling in them and he can feel her fear, her panic, her love for them all shining there as bright and painful as can be. Her lips move to say something, her hand reaching out in Tony's direction, but before she can push the words out her eyes roll back into her head and she crashes to the ground. Tony doesn't even think before he's running, running to her side, bloodcurdling screams of anguish sounding out on all sides of him and he reaches her, grabbing her wrist in desperation, only to confirm what he already knows, and ripping what's left of his heart to nothing.

Darcy Lewis is dead.

 _ **And here it is. Were you surprised? Let me know what you think! Love y'all!**_


	6. We All Fall Down

The world pulses red.

Tony stares into Darcy's lifeless face, his hand still curled around her limp wrist and he can feel nothing. An icy numbness seeps into his veins and he cannot think of a single thing more to do then look at the corpse of the young woman on the ground in front of him as a million images flash heated past his eyelids. Her laugh, her smile, her tears and her comfort, everything she meant to them, the soul of the Avengers when they'd feared they lost their own. She was innocent, and full of potential she'd only begun to fulfill.

Now she is nothing but a memory held by a few who are likely to die any moment anyway.

At the thought of the others Tony stirs a little in his shock to notice Pietro, on the ground across from him, tears streaming down the young man's face, cradling Darcy's head in his arms. Tony blinks, looking around and begins to take notice of the utter scene of destruction surrounding him. The ground is bathed in blood everywhere he can see, dead agents litter the entire area, and live ones are desperately surrounding those who are left.

Most everyone has frozen in shock, similar to how Tony imagines he looks at the moment, barley moving enough to keep themselves alive. Time is frozen, each moment moving like dripping syrup, and he realizes while it seems hours since that shot sounded out, since Darcy fell, since the last bit of hope he has left was brutally extinguished, in reality it has been but minutes.

Everything is hazy to Tony, Pietro's cries of agony barely penetrating the cloud of red _emptiness_ settled over him. He thinks, for a moment, that this is what has finally broken him.

Then his eyes find Nick.

The man is still laying on the ground, defenseless, Bucky a few away from him, frozen in horror. Tony scans every inch of Fury's face, one of the most familiar ones to him, one he thought he could trust. The man who had helped raise him, who motivated him to save his own life, gave him the Avengers…

 _The man who is trying to take them all_ _ **away.**_

 _The man who just took_ _ **Darcy**_ _away_ _ **forever**_ _._

Suddenly reality comes crashing down on Tony like ice water, the red haze surrounding him bleeding into everything with perfect clarity, and Tony feels **_hate._**

An inhuman scream of rage and grief he doesn't even realize he could make tears through his lungs and Tony's moving, moving like a tank towards Fury, and he barley feels the impact of his suit finally wrapping around his body as he moves.

 _"_ _Little too late…."_ His mind hisses bitterly, but within a few steps he's towering over Nick Fury. Their Director, his godfather, their _friend._

"You are a stupid motherfucker Fury," He growls, and Tony's voice is darker, graver than he's ever heard his own voice before. He can feel the rage buzzing in every atom of his body, just awaiting an outlet.

Fury gazes up at him from the ground, jutting out his chin in that ever present pride, not a drop of remorse marring his _indifferent, uncaring_ features. Tony takes a moment, only a moment to scour his soul for any drop of mercy, any voice of reason, anything to stop him from taking his revenge.

He finds nothing, because his voice of mercy is lying dead in her boyfriend's arms.

Without another thought Tony brings down the boot of his suit on Fury's head and crushes his skull to nothing.

There's a collective gasp of shock, and then everyone suddenly wakes up, shaking off their shock and launching into battle with everything they have, every bit of exhaustion washed clean from the team's movements. Tony sees Wanda violently tear the agents around her to shreds, nothing left of them but dust floating through the air, anger dancing in her red eyes like nothing he's ever seen. Cap moves with purpose, his shield tearing down agents left and right, every blow a fatal one. Tony watches without horror as Steve slices a man's head open with one move of the shield, and is reminded of the strength his friend usually keeps on such a tight leash. Clint is shooting like a machine, arrows suddenly blossoming in eyes and throats of attacking agents instead of legs and torso, the archer brutally ripping the arrows from his ex-coworkers bloody corpses without flinching, and absent of any previous hesitation or remorse. Rhodey is beating a man to death barehanded, his knuckles covered in blood and Sam hovers above him in guard, blood dripping from his own body, making no move to stop his lover. Natasha begins fighting with Maria Hill again, but within seconds the battle has switched to her favor and Natasha puts a knife through the other woman's brainstem. Bucky has moved into sync with Tony, the two of them not hesitating to blow people's heads to smoking stumps or snap their necks in ease, throwing agents back and forth to each other when they have their hands full.

Tony feels the electricity buzz in the air before he hears Thor scream, but the following sounds of thunder and the flashes of light coming from every angle of his vision tells him all he needs to know, that Thor has returned for Darcy and instead found her lover weeping over her dead body.

Now he's joined their war and the smell of burning flesh in the air in enough proof that he too has no mercy for his enemies any longer. Tony knows as soon as the God arrives that this is no longer a battle for survival or escape for the Avengers.

This is their massacre, and they will leave no survivors.

Tony chuckles bitterly to himself as he puts his gauntlet through a man's chest and finishes his last words to Nick Fury, even though the man can't hear him any longer.

"You're stupid Fury, because you've finally given us something to avenge."

Bucky laughs hysterically next to him, apparently catching Tony's words and Tony laughs with him as together, Earth's Mightiest Heroes kill every last member of Shield.


	7. Shock

As the last body falls, Bucky surveys the carnage, blood and corpses painting the New York Pavement like snow in the winter, and for the first time since his deprogramming Bucky is completely absent of guilt. It will come later, he's sure, but not until the image of Darcy clutching her chest in terror as the life leaves her body fades from his mind.

Maybe he won't feel the guilt after all.

Slowly, as if in a dream the rest of the team begins to move towards the Quinjet. Bucky's heart drops as he sees Pietro carrying Darcy in his arms, and he finally tunes in to hear Rhodey yelling something about Sam and Bucky nearly falls apart right there. God please, not another one. War Machine comes up to the jet, carrying Sam whose wings are gone, blood pouring from a heavy wound in his side and his head, worry and grief etched into his lovers features.

"He's still breathing. We'll check with Bruce but Natasha says he should live." Steve says from behind him as they load onto the jet, his voice expressionless and dead in a way that Bucky hasn't heard since Sarah Rogers died. Usually an injury like this would have everyone in a panic, but everyone is hurt and in shock. Honestly they're all very, very broken. Bucky nods, worry still present bull quelled a bit, and files in behind Steve onto the jet. The first thing he hears is Pietro's deep, breathless sobs and Bucky has to close his eyes and count to ten before he can dare to look at the kid.

Wanda has her arms around her brother, tears falling silently from her own eyes as Pietro shakes in her grasp, holding Darcy close to him. Bucky hasn't seen that kind of despair since he was Hydra's puppet and it was he who was ripping people from their loved ones, leaving grief and tragedy in his wake.

That line of thought nearly sends him into hysterics and he can feel his heartrate rising when Steve grabs him, pulling him into his familiar embrace and trying to say everything without actually saying anything. They slide down to the floor together, not concerned enough to try and find somewhere to sit and he does his best to match his breathing to Steve's. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Tony move past him towards the controls, and a moment later they're flying, finally leaving that horrid graveyard behind them.

"Where are we going?" Bucky hears Natasha asks softly, her voice as shaky and unsure as he's ever heard it.

"The Avenger's Fort." Tony answers, his eyes not drifting from the sky for a moment.

"We have a fort?" Clint says surprised, his voice still raw and Natasha moves to him instantly, pulling him close, slotting her mouth to his in a life affirming kiss. Tony chuckles darkly, the sound even more ominous through Iron Man's voice filter. "I'm a paranoid bastard Barton." But as he says it the genius' eyes finally drift to Pietro in the corner, Darcy lying in his lap. As he does Bucky is assaulted with a crystal clear picture of Tony's face the moment he grabbed Darcy's wrist, looking more lifeless then any of the dead bodies littering the now abandoned street.

"I just wasn't paranoid enough." Tony whispers, and Bucky knows he wasn't supposed to hear that.

…

No one spoke again until they landed.

Sam was unconscious most of the trip, only awaking for a few seconds every half hour or so.

When they landed on a small island, nearly nothing but a small building above land, Tony didn't say a word, just stood up and walked out of the jet.

The rest followed.

…..

 _~Two Hours Later~_

Bruce stumbles out of the door the second he sees the Quinjet land, watching the Iron Man suit exit first, followed by Natasha, Cap, and Bucky.

Tony approaches him first, faceplate sliding up as he pulls Bruce into a hug. "So glad you're okay." Tony whispers, his voice hoarse, and Bruce freezes at his tone. He pulls off a little, looking into the genius's eyes to see them puffy and red, and Bruce feels his heartrate pick up. "Tony? Is someone hurt? What happened? What's going on?" Tony bites his lip and his gaze falls to the floor. "We were betrayed by Shield. We- Sh- Sam took a hit. He, um, is still breathing but h-he needs your help." As Tony speaks Bruce sees Rhodey exit the jet with Sam in his arms, Clint, Pietro, Wanda, Darcy and Thor still nowhere to be seen.

Steve, Bucky and Natasha reach them then, Steve placing a comforting hand on Tony's armor clad shoulder, Natasha pulling Bruce into a hug and now he knows something is very very wrong.

"Tasha? Tony? What happened?" He says, his panic growing and Natasha refuses to meet his eyes.

Then Pietro walks out of the jet.

Wanda is by his side, Thor on the Pietro's other side, Clint trailing behind them.

And in Pietro's arms, a limp form covered in Thor's cape, long dark hair peeking out from underneath its cover.

 _Darcy._

" _No."_ Bruce chokes, and Natasha pulls him into a tight embrace before he can fall to his knees, tears catching in his throat. The Hulk roars in the back of his mind, but he doesn't have the strength to turn.

 ** _Darcy is dead._**

"Bruce, shhh come inside come on, shhh." Natasha whispers softly, her own voice barley steady, and he lets himself be led back inside the bunker, his thoughts swirling down into familiar screams of another brunette, a long time ago.

…

Bruce quickly pulled himself together enough to rush Sam to their makeshift hospital, accompanied by a few doctors Tony hired to live and work on the island just in case.

Just after that Pepper arrived in frenzy, one of Tony's suits having swept her up on the way back from a business meeting, Jarvis only informing her Tony had ordered it without further explanation.

When they explained to her what happened, the unbreakable Pepper Potts fell into Tony's arms, completely distraught.

 **I apologize for my sporadic updates and this truly god awful transition chapter, but I really just need something in between Darcy's death and the next scene**


End file.
